Well, she thought. What to do? She hardly wanted to drive herself to the hospital, especially with the way the contractions hurt her. She'd drive right off the road. Marianna, you've got to do something. Start by calling Alan. Which she did, picking up the phone and dialing his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, hon, it's me."

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, except these damn contractions. I'm going to see if someone's home next door and get me to the hospital. I'll meet you there, okay?"

"I'll come get you."

"No, meet me there."

"How can you be so calm!?"

"I've done this before, remember. I'll see you soon." Mari hung up before he could drive her crazy. Men were so incompetent when it came to children. That was probably why women had always been in charge. Instincts. Instinctually, she decided to walk over to UPChuck's house rather than call.

Out the back door, cutting through the backyards, Marianna made her way to the ranch-style next door. She rang the bell, reminding herself that since their engagement, one could never tell what Dream and UPChuck would be up to, and caution was well advised. Dream answered the door.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Except for the contractions, yeah, pretty much. I need someone to drive me to the hospital, though."

"Come in, I'll get Uly." Dream walked through the house, looking for all the world as if she was already its mistress. Mari stopped in the living room, looked around, and noticed Dream's touch. Houseplants were on every table and window sill, and a huge potted fern stood in the corner by the front door. She was just noticing a banana plant near the entry to the kitchen when another contraction hit.

UPChuck found her clinging to the door frame in pain. "Mari? You just about ready to go to the hospital?"

"Uh-huh!" she said through gritted teeth. "Just let me finish off this contraction..." A moment later, all three were in the car and on their way.

"Calm down, no babies have actually come out yet."

"Oh, good. Are they going to let her have them this time?"

Dream motioned to Alan to follow him down the hall to the elevators. "She refuses to take any more drugs, so they're going to let nature take its course."

"What about Amanda?"

The obstetritian came out of the elevator just then, and smiled at Alan. He was a small, round man, with a mostly bald head and little, round, wire-rim glasses. He spoke with a vaguely Eastern European accent. "Oddest thing I've ever seen. A miracle, perhaps. In the past three days, the child has been able to turn herself about. We shouldn't even have to consider a Caesarian." Alan breathed a sigh of relief, and Dream smiled serenely. "I was just coming down to see if you were here. Would you like to come up now?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Alan practically leaped into the elevator.

"How is my fiance holding up, Doctor?" Dream asked quietly.

"Better off than the anesthesiologist." The doctor's eyes laughed, but Dream couldn't get anything else out of him. When they walked into Mari's room a moment later, it was perfectly clear what he had meant.

The anesthesiologist was slumped in a chair, a huge purple bruise growing under his eye. UPChuck was talking to Marianna, now between contractions, and they were laughing about something.

"I really didn't mean to knock him out!" she giggled. "It was the pain of the moment!"

"Look at that bruise, Mari! By the gods, what a story to tell these kids. Can I tell them?"

"Maybe that poor anesthesiologist will write a book, and I'll just let them read it."

"Mari?" asked poor bewildered Alan. "What's going on?"

She glanced at UPChuck and burst out laughing again. "I knocked out the knock-out guy! He asked me if I wanted a painkiller, like a million times, and he was pissing me off so I punched him!"

UPChuck and Dream took that moment to leave quietly, before they started having misgivings about their own potential family. Alan was left trying to understand his wife (of course, that will never happen, but he'll keep trying), just as she was hit by another contraction.

"Quit grousing, it's not attractive. And you know very well that labor can take hours, even days sometimes," said Alan.

"Watch it," she growled. He frowned, and she sighed. "Next time, you go through this." He raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm joking. Mark my words, boy, I'll find a way."

"Mari, we want you to push next time," said a nurse.

"Really?" she asked, eyes lighting up.

"Yes, really," the nurse smiled. This particular nurse had been with her the entire five hours, and was starting to become a friend. "It's just about that time."

"I'll say. Ooh, here comes the next contraction."

"Push on three... one, two, three, push!"

He felt gentle hands wiping him with a rough towel. And he was wrapped up, warm again, but not warm like he had been these past months. Not that warm, not that safe, not that... innocent. He felt an awful sense that, whatever was here, it was not as perfect as what had been there. And he was more than a little afraid.

Then, settled in a glass case, with bright lights shining on him from above, his heart and mind slowed down enough for him to actually think. The other, smaller heartbeat-- the smaller person. They had been together since he was aware of his existence; when he had come aware, he had also come aware of her. Where was she now? Was she as afraid as he? It occurred to him to call out to her, but in this new place, he was not sure it was safe. Also, he was not sure how to call out. Was it possible, perhaps, to call to her in the same way he had always talked to her? He resolved to try.

She was very much aware, now, of her surroundings. She had seen her brother wrapped up and whisked away, before she herself was taken from one room to another. She glimpsed him-- at least, she thought it was him-- in a glass case, before she was settled in one of her own, not far away. She was not afraid, though she was curious. She tried to see around her, but found it impossible to move.

So, she settled down to sleep. But that would also be impossible, for as soon as she started nodding off, he interrupted her. Can you hear me?

Yes, of course! she replied irritably. Can't you let me sleep?

Do you know where we are?

No. It's not where we have always been.

I know that much. Are you frightened?

No. Are you?

Not if you aren't. Can you move?

Barely. Let me sleep now.

But I can't sleep. I have a feeling... in my stomach...

So make some noise. Don't tell me, tell someone who can help you. She settled down to sleep again. Then an awful noise, like a siren, jolted her awake. Surprised, she added her own wail to the noise. Women in white came in and lifted her and her brother, tried to comfort them.

"Maybe they're hungry?" asked one nurse.

"Let's take them to their mommy," said the other. "I'd like to see how her anesthesiologist is recovering."

"That's an awful way to refer to your children!" said one of the nurses.

"I'm allowed to; they were inside me for eight months." She reached up to take one of the children-- Amanda, she assumed, since she was wrapped in a pink blanket. "Are my brats hungry?"

"We think so," said the nurse, placing Amanda in her right arm. The other nurse put the blue bundle that was Jamie in her left arm.

"Okay, who volunteers to hang around and watch me breast-feed?"

"Um, where's Alan?" asked Daniela. "He'd probably love to watch you..."

"Don't go there, Daniela. I have no desire whatsoever to have him drooling over me right now." Mari would have leaned back and closed her eyes against the thought, but Jamie was starting to fuss again, and she thought it more important to feed him. "And the gods only know why I decided to breast-feed this time. I hated it with Polly, and now I've got twice as many babies to deal with."

Dream and Daniela glanced at each other. The nurses had left the room, and Dream knew Alan was on his way in. This was more than post-partum depression... and if that was all, should it have set in so soon? I'm going to try to head off Alan... I think he's with Uly. You try to figure out what's wrong with Mari, Dream commanded Daniela. Dani nodded imperceptibly and perched on the edge of the bed.

Marianna now had Jamie suckling contentedly, but Amanda just sat, staring at her mother. Mari stared back. "Well? Are you hungry, or not? You sure are a weird one." She looked up at Daniela. "She's not going to eat. Can you hold her?"

Surprisingly, Daniela was enthusiastic. "Oh, yes, please! I love babies!"

"I never would have guessed," Mari said, frowning slightly. "Aren't you afraid she'll mess up your outfit?"

"Mari, I came straight from court. I hate wearing suits. I'll probably never wear this again." It was a navy blue silk pantsuit, trimmed with gold braid so it looked slightly nautical. It had style, but definitely not Daniela's style. "Isn't she pretty!" cooed Dani to Amanda. The baby gazed up at her aunt, calmly taking in every detail of her face.

Jamie. The boy broke away from his mother to take a breath as his sister called to him. This one's pretty interesting. I'm not sure I'm going to share values with her, but I might take her fashion advice.

Fashion doesn't matter to me. I'm a boy.

Sexist already. I should have been an only child.

I don't think either of us could have been only children, he replied. I think there was one before us.

How do you know?

Just a feeling. He returned to feeding, and Amanda continued to size up Daniela.

A moment later, Alan entered the room, Polly in tow, and Dream and UPChuck not far behind. "I think this is breaking some limit on visitors," Dream said worriedly.

"Don't worry," said UPChuck. "We're going to leave in a minute. We should leave the family alone."

"Pandora's coming as soon as she can," Alan told Marianna, although it was also a reminder to UPChuck to pick up Mari's little sister. Pandora still couldn't drive, and George certainly couldn't. Yet again, the responsibility had fallen on UPChuck.

"You're all very lucky I'm a nice guy," he said now, "because otherwise, nobody would ever go anywhere."

"That's not true," said Dream, a slight smile on her face. "Inda Nett paid for the Fly shuttles in the Frogwar, and Ellie flew the plane to Brazil."

"Nobody would ever go anywhere good," he corrected himself.

Marianna smiled weakly. "Polly, would you like to hold your sister?" She nodded toward Daniela, who was still cooing over Amanda and was barely aware of the other conversation in the room. Dani looked up, smiled at Polly, and motioned for her to sit in one of the uncomfortable chairs available.

"You have to sit so you don't drop the baby. She might be a little heavy for you to hold."

"I can hold her!" Polly pouted.

"Yes, but you have to be very careful. Put your elbow-- here-- under her head, and your other arm under her butt. Put that hand on her back. Babies don't have as strong backs as we do, and she might slip if you don't hold tight."

"I know how to hold babies. I used to help babysit the frog babies. They were lots more slippery." Polly looked down at the dark-haired girl in her arms. Blue eyes reflected in brown and back again.

By the bed, Alan had taken a seat by Mari's head. She had yet to acknowledge his presence, saying goodbye to Dream and UPChuck and holding Jamie upright. Alan grew impatient, and put an arm around his wife. Still, she barely glanced over, more concerned with her son than with her husband. When he kissed her ear, however, it was harder to ignore. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself. Y'know what watching you makes me think of?"

"The Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus."

"No!"

"I can hope, can't I?" Looking at his face, she sighed. "Hon, just because they're out doesn't mean I want to start where we left off all those months ago. I'm sore, first of all. My hormones are all out of whack. And I'm going to be very very exhausted for a while, taking care of them."

"I know," he pouted. Mari had to admit he was very good at pouting... very cute. She almost wanted him again. But not until she could get on the Pill. He'd been right, on her birthday almost six months ago. No more kids just might be a good thing.

"You don't know. Just let me have my three days in the hospital, then me and my short people have to get settled in at home--"

"Our short people."

"Yes, our... I'm not used to that... after we're settled, then I'll discuss... your needs."

Alan looked confused, but tried to keep his face from showing any emotion. "My needs? What about you?"

"Let's discuss this later." Mari turned her face away from him, checked on Jamie (still contentedly sucking at her breast), and looked toward Polly and Amanda. Daniela had left quietly, leaving the immediate family alone together. Polly was barely moving, barely breathing, as she and Amanda regarded each other. Mari wondered what was going through their minds. Whatever it was, it had to be intelligent. They were her daughters, after all. She hoped they would get along well.

"I think I'm losing my wife," he said glumly, keeping his eyes on the blank wall ahead of him.

"What, 'cause she's preoccupied with the kids?" Pandora vaguely recalled Dream mentioning something about Mari being irritable, almost resentful because of the children, but she couldn't possibly... "It's probably nothing. She's been through a lot of bad stuff since she got pregnant. Hell, if you check it out, her entire life has been one bad event after another. You and those kids, and the Club, are the only good things in her life. She's not going to get rid of you lightly."

Alan finally looked up. "You think?"

"I know. She's my sister." Pandora shrugged, grinned, and looked more like the 'Dora everyone knew-- the self-centered, child-like 'Dora.

"No offense or anything, but that insight was completely out of character for you," he observed.

"I know. I'm going to see Mari now, if it's okay."

"She was asleep when I left. I'll take you down to the nursery, though, and show you the twins. I think Jamie looks like me, but Amanda looks just like Mari. She doesn't have that odd pink streak in her hair, though." Alan led Pandora down the hall, talking enthusiastically about the children as they went.